Dhanlaxmi Ghanji, the 65-year-old woman accused of murdering her 35-year-old daughter-in-law Sapna with the help of their maid, had allegedly hatched the plan when she found out that she was returning from Dubai to India without her husband.

Dhanlaxmi, police said, had not been able to get over the fact that Sapna had filed a domestic violence complaint against the in-laws and often suspected her of having an extramarital affair and consuming alcohol.

Sapna was allegedly murdered at her Ghatkopar residence on Sunday at the behest of her mother-in-law, who paid Rs 3 lakh to a former maid and her family to carry out the crime. A total of five persons have been arrested.

Sapna had left for Dubai with her husband and son earlier this year. Dhanlaxmi, the police said, started to hatch a plan when she learnt that she was coming to India alone. It was then that she contacted her former maid and got her involved in her plan.

“When she learnt that her son and Sapna’s husband Pramod was not accompanying her from Dubai, she had begun thinking of getting rid of her and got her former maid involved in the crime,” Pant Nagar senior police inspector Lata Sutar said.

The day of the murder

All the accused had been looking for an opportunity to get rid of Sapna. On Sunday, the maid found Sapna under the influence of alcohol and alerted others.

“Mangala Jadhav [the maid] then tipped off others that since Sapna was intoxicated, it would be easier to get rid of her. Accordingly, others, including Dhanlaxmi, Mangala’s family members including her husband, daughter and son stealthily entered the house and murdered Sapna,” the officer said.

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On Monday night, Sapna’s parents received a call that she had fallen in the bathroom. She was declared dead at the hospital. The case came to light when the police found black and blue marks around Sapna’s neck and blood on the left side of her head, raising suspicion.

During interrogation, Dhanlaxmi allegedly told them that she had pushed Sapna during a fight. However, based on the nature of the injuries, the police found that her head had been banged on a hard surface, contradicting her earlier claims.